Carols with the Wollongong Harmony Chorus

 

Being a member of Wollongong Harmony Chorus is great fun - especially at Christmas.
At Christmas, the chorus sings carols at various venues such as shopping centres around the Illawarra.
Here we are today, singing at Dapto Mall.
It's great to watch the audience, especially the children who sing and dance as they enjoy the music we make. WE all enjoy it too and it's a great way to recruit for new members. As you can see, Helen never misses an opportunity!
Five more sleeps until Christmas!
Where did the year go?

That man in the red suit ....

 

Oh my goodness who IS that? says Zara.
I don't think I like him too much even if he does come bearing gifts.
BUT, I did eventually end up waving to him (from the distance) and blowing him a kiss!
I liked his sleigh and all the tinsel and he gave me this cool backpack with some gardening tools and a car.
Maybe he's not so bad after all.
Mardie had fun!

Just what IS supposed to happen?

 

Look what Mardie bought me yesterday!

 


Reckon it was worth $5?
I do!
I wonder how I can share it with cousin Harry?

Mardie's Helper ...

 

Zara loves to help - especially when there is water involved!

Christmas Tree's

Here are a couple of Christmas trees.
The first one I took at Circular Quay last weekend.
I was realy taking the blow up 'Boy with Swin Ring' which was kinda different.
Not sure of his significance really.
Must take a ride in one of these 'green' taxis! Saw some in Melbourne when we were down there last month.

 

This tree was in Melbourne .....

 

Pincushions...

We had our ScqIllawarra Christmas GTG last weekend and had a pincushion swap.
This is the collection ready to be 'drawn'.
They were all numbered and we drew out a number to get our swap.

 

This is the one I made. I had fun making it. I got the idea from a 'make do' site on the Net.
I picked up the little glass candle holder at an Op shop for $2 and raided my old button collection to fill the glass.
I made a second one in Christmas theme in a 'shot' glass. Not sure where it was when I took the photo.
I have one 1/2 done for myself in a crystal port glass and I have filled the glass with tiny shells - photo later.
I picked up a selection of vessels from the wine glass to an egg cup and a pate dish. It is a fun concept and makes a cute different sort of gift for a 'sewing' friend

 

Call that a ship?....

We went up to Sydney today to see Manon, our last ballet of the season at the Opera House. It was lovely. I don't know why the slur of 'pansy' was ever put on guys who do ballet - they are so fit and strong and are a delight to watch.
The girls were OK too . LOL
It was a busy day in town - the train on the way up was full of young people going to 'Home Day' which I had to ask about - it's like 'Big Day Out' we were told by one of the Transit Police on the train.
And goodness knows how many passengers came off this huge ship - it almost dwarfs the 'Bridge'- I'm sure most of them were wandering around the Quay!

 

This cruise boat the 'Millenium' was in dock at the International Terminal.
You have it in B&W as I was trying out my new camera and I hadn't set the White Balance correctly so I got a nice 'blue' shot. Looks fine in B&W tho.

 

Here is a shot of it taken from Circular Quay station, you can just see Lunar Park.

 

And this one of Lunar Park taken from the same spot using the zoom.
Now why would I bother with a heavy SLR that I have to change lens' etc?
A couple of weeks ago I bought one and tried it for the weekend - I've since resold it - for more than I paid for it -and no regrets.
I then bought a Panasonic Lumix FZ28 - their latest with quite a few more features which I have to learn to use. This will be my 4th Lumix.
I am working my way through the instruction manual. Sigh.

Family Celebrations ....

 

Last weekend was a gathering of children and grandchildren here at 'the Rail'
Only one missing was Scott and we hope he will join us in Taree for New Year.
It was great to have them all here but also VERY quiet when they all went home this morning.

How I see myself ................

 

I have seen myself as many things over the years and I have worn MANY hats - literally - LOL
But today I see myself as a special 'Mardie' to my two little grandchildren.
Here I am with Harry and his lovely father Brad at our Chorus Family and Friends Concert last Saturday night.

Zara and I get to spend lots of time together as she lives closer. Times like going on the train to the nearby seaside town of Kiama or to the markets or like in this photo, just taking the time to feed the seagulls and watch the pelicans. It's really special.

A windy day in Braidwood

 

Last weekend we travelled up the mountain from Bateman's Bay to see the 'Hanging of the Quilts' in Braidwood. We had been trying to get to this event for the last few years but something always prevented us doing so but we made it this year. It was lovely in the sun but with the cloud cover we didn't see too much sun and I'm sure the wind was blowing off the snow. I was glad of my Drizabone to keep out the chills. Poor Lucy was cold so we popped her into Maureen's shoulder bag. This was a great talking point in the street but I think it really kept them both warm. See if you can find her in the mosaic? Bailey looks well in front of the fire engine too don't you think?
While wandering in a gallery in the main street, we ran into Kathryn with Maggie and Emily so it was nice to catch up and have a chat to them. Small world although I was not surprised to run into at least one Scquilter at such an event!
Enjoyed the day but was glad to come down to a warmer lower altitude to spend our last night at the van before Christmas. Looking forward to a nice family GTG this weekend. No doubt there will be photos!

Some flora and fauna along the way ....

Here is another mosaic ....
We were amazed at the wildflowers and wild life we saw beside the road.
1. Firstly a great herd of jersey cattle down near Narooma - one for the Cows!
2. Wild daisies - I thought they were everlastings until I got up close and personal.
3. Do you like butter? I LOVE buttercups.....
4. The elusive Blue Wren - I managed to capture this one before he flitted away. He was on the boardwalk railing on the common in Sale.
5. Cool fungae - growning on the side of a post beside the STEPS on the way down to Erskine Falls
6. Fire Weed - I pull it out whenever I see it near home - poisonous to stock. Growing in the regeneration area near the Apostles.
7. We saw several echidna's snacking on ants in the sandy soil. This fellow was nicely placed amongst the gazannias at the lookout at Peterborough. We watched him for ages and took one or two photos!
8. Spotted this swan on her nest in a dam by the road - make a U Turn now says Alice!
9. And lastly the day before Rememberance Day - a Flanders Poppy in a garden plot outside an RSL Club at Colac
Now to organise the other 600 or so photo's.

Mosaic of our trip to Victoria .....

 

Here are just a few shots to show some of the places we went on our trip down the Gt Ocean Rd last week.
1. A view from the Rhododendron gardens in the Dandenongs
2. Surfers at the famous Bells Beach just out of Torquay
3. The Split Rock lighthouse at Aireys Inlet
4. View from Teddys Lookout at Lorne
5. Erskine Falls out of Lorne - LOTS of steps!
6. Apollo Bay from the wharf area - pretty spot reminiscent of Kaikaroa in NZ
7. A COLD windy visit to the Apostles - I think there are about 8 now
8. London Bridge - no longer joined to the mainland but still spectacular
9. Rocky paddocks near Wodonga on the way home.

Next some wildlife and nature shots along the way

Gone bananas ..............

I just had to take a couple of photo's of my little veggie patch.
Shows our reserve outlook and check out the geraniums - they are amazing this year too.
 

I'll take a shot of some in the front yard in the next few days.
The little garden has been so prolific this spring that I am keeping the family and half the street in salad vegs and spinach (we keep all the rhubarb tho! - yum)
I don't know if it was the compost, the rainwater (we had a little tank put in) or just the season and my TLC.

I have put in more seeds than usual and have rocket coming out of my ears (nice look) and self sown oragano, basil and thyme coming up everywhere, even in the cracks in the paths and pavers!
The beans are heading for the sky so I will probably be overwhelmed with them - LOL - I have three varieties in. The capsicums and eggplants have been really slow so we'll have to wait and see what happens with them.
Off for a cuppa ....

Here's Harry .....

Our big boy is growing up.
Here's some shots from the weekend.
He's a such happy fellow.
Lee and I babysat on Saturday night and he settled really well and slept right through - well done.

Broken ......

I am off to Taree tomorrow to check on the growth of big Harry.
So, I'm getting in while I have an opportunity with a couple of 'broken' shots.


We got up one morning after a nasty wind storm to find this 'broken' limb from the gum tree out the front - it was very close to the window of Maureen's room at the front of the house but luckily all it damaged was the birdbath.
The SES came with a crew of at least 8 people with chainsaws and it was cut up and over the fence to await council pickup in just a flash. Well done SES!

The second shot I took down the coast last weekend.
It is a very interesting looking building and definitely 'broken'. LOL
I guess it was a barn sort of structure - there is a door at the top but no hoist or upper floor that I could see. Perhaps that's all lost in the ageing process or been removed for other use?
Maybe it was a hayshed where the bales were just stacked up on top of one another but they usually had open sides to allow for lots of air around the bales.
Also has sort of a 'lean to' addition on the side.

Looks a bit like a community hall but then why would the roof be so high.



It is quite close to the local store so I might wander in and ask it's history - one day.

Anyone for breakfast?

I've been a bit slack with my photo challenges lately but came across these FOOD photo's when I was looking for something else the other day.



Amazing aren't they? I think I had the last one - the BIG breakfast - enough for at least 3 people!



Makes me HUNGRY - I have been doing a meal replacement regime and have lost 4 kgs so far. I'm getting ready for Christmas!
Mind you I still have a life and can manage a few glasses of wine on the weekends!



These brekkies were served at a restaurant in Belmore basin in Wollongong.

Look what we found yesterday ...........

Our van park Bundilla at Durras North is right in the middle of the Murramarang National Park and there are easy walking trails through the bush and around the lake.
Yesterday we set out for a walk before we came home and look what we found!
I noticed a dark 'flash' in a tree and saw a male Satin Bower bird above us. Aha says I, I wonder where he came from? as you can see (or can't see really!) the bush looked fairly nondescript until I investigated further. I looked down and saw a blue peg - hmmm that's 'out of place' I thought.
I then peered under a Burrawang palm and saw this.
What priviledge to find his bower.
He has been very busy building his display 'vestibule' and lining the actual bower with saliva and charcoal mix - so the book tells me :-).
He has it decorated with straws mainly but also blue feathers, pegs and bottle caps. We found later that the park caretaker had thrown a blue peg onto the grass near the shower block when he was cleaning and it had gone when he went to pick it up - I wonder if it was the same one?

We see quite a few females down there and altho they are timid, they will come up on the deck for food. We don't seem to see the males, perhaps it's because they are too busy 'building' etc.
As you can see he wasn't too happy at us looking at his 'parade ground'.
It's so special that they build this close to 'civilisation'.
I just hope that the big goannas we saw later on don't find him.

A day out in Sydney ....

Last weekend, Maureen and I decided to have a day out in our beautiful Sydney.
We hopped on the train at Oak Flats - 5 mins away from home at 8.45am, paid our $2.50and away we went.
We arrived at Circular Quay at about 11am and wandered around to the Rocks - it was a bit showery but not cold. This gave a bleaker look to our harbour but there were still tourists wandering about. A young Canadian lass asked me to take her photo with the Opera House in the background and asked where we were from. "Oh we live her" says I. "Wow" she said - "Well how come you are still taking photo's of it?" My response was "Well, it's still beautiful!" And it is!
We walked around to Darling Harbour and caught the little trolley from the Aquarium to the main complex(to rest our legs!)where we had a nice lunch before walking up around the Maritime Museum and lighthouse to the ferry wharf to catch one back to the Quay. We had a great ride on the harbour and by now the sun was out to show it at it's best.
I just had to take another shot of the Opera House and Luna Park - the original shot does have the whole face but as usual Mr MosaicMaker cropped it for me! The building on the point surrounded by trees (for our non Sydneyites) is Kirribilli House - the PM's residence. Great view eh?
Then back on the train up to Central and home.
We got back to Oak Flats at about 6pm and had a GREAT day out just doing nothing except enjoying the day!
Not bad for $2.50 eh?
I didn't count the $4.50 the trolley ride cost or lunch and coffee - well they are absorbed costs - LOL

And here are the carrot's going in .....

 

I don't think they will be in a straight line!
Next photo's will be when it's time to thin them out and then we'll get to TASTE them.
If they make it that far - LOL.
She is so ernest in her endeavours - perhaps she will be a scientist or a botanist or maybe a Prime Minister one day!
Who knows ................

Zara's Garden .....

 

Today Zara planted her first garden. Aunty Maureen helped her firstly with a petunia plant. And then Mardie added some carrots!

Fun at the beach ....

These shots were taken last weekend at the van.
We have found a great 'dog friendly' beach at Bateman's Bay and the doggies enjoy a frolic on the sand when we go into town.

 

You can tell the weather is warming up.
Even Bailey who is not a great water lover enjoyed a game in the creek.

Dont stand still .....

Or you'll get painted!

 

We were in danger one and all today of getting a new paint job when Princess Zara was introduced to the concept of water painting.

Early Morning in Paradise .....

 

Last Saturday morning I set off to the loo at 5.30am - as you do in a caravan park - but when I saw the sky I had to backtrack to get my camera.
It was well worth the effort!